Running can be easy!

fufu_banterwaite

Indie_Kid wrote: »

You're suggesting to do as much as you can before your body tells you to stop. That is silly.

No. I am saying do as much as you feel comfortable with, not as much as you can.

Indie_Kid wrote: »

Why else would there be couch 2 5k, etc?

Because everyone is different. We are all physiologically equipped to run, but some of us are better than others.

Dean Karnezes in his book tells of how, after he had been out celebrating his 30th birthday and having not run since he was 18, he got back slightly worse for wear and put on his trainers and just decided to go for a run. He made it 30 miles away and then had to call his wife to drive over and pick him up. There would be no point in him following a couch to 5k. Some people benefit from it lots of other don’t need it.

Steve Way has been selected to run the marathon for England at the Commonwealth Games. In 2007 he was a 16 stone, 20 a day smoker whose quick half-marathon time was 1hour 42minutes. Six years later he ran 2hrs 16minutes in the London Marathon. He was entirely self-coached.

Indie_Kid wrote: »

And why the sports therapist give me a plan designed to get me back to where I want to be, instead of telling me to run as far as I can?

I think the big question is why you need to use a sports therapist for that? You know your body better than him. We didn't have sports therapists until about 20 years ago.

If the OP is running 3miles easily and feeling great and not out of breath then there is no point in them increasingly by 10% each time, they might as well see if they can do 5miles or 7miles.

If however they are struggling and find 3miles tough a 10% increase might help. They are the only ones that know how they feel.

delmar39

brfc1995 wrote: »

I've recently started running, doing the add 3 miles here and there! I'm quite comfortable doing this distance now and want to up it a little! Any tips or advice on how much further i should run, don't want to over do it!

I've seen the posts on this. Why not apply the training programme principle of shorter weekly runs and a longer run at the weekend. If you're happy doing 3 miles then do 2 or 3 of these during the week, then why not go further on a weekend? 5 or 6 say? Also, you could just run to time rather than miles - you should be aiming for 30 minutes as a minimum - are you covering 3 miles within this time? Why not 2 or 3 x 30 mins run, then 45-1 hour at the weekend? If you're just running for general fitness this approach may work for you, but if you want to say train for a 5k or 10k then you'd be better off following a programme as someone has already mentioned you can download these for free. For what it's worth my maintenance training schedule when I'm not training for anything in particular is 3 x 4/5 miles runs during the week (one tempo/fast/interval) and I alternate 6,7 and 8 mile runs on a weekend, occasionally up to 10. If you are concerned about injuries (as people have mentioned) mix it up with some cycling perhaps or swimming if you have a handy facility and buy some decent running shoes. You don't have to break the bank, shoes that provide you with adequate support and cushioning. I did a 10k at the weekend, with lots of hills, brilliant! Best of luck.

terra_ferma

Indie_Kid wrote: »

Ignore this. You will risk a potentially serious injury. Been there and done that.

Agree, jogging/running puts strain on knee and back, so it's not suitable for all. My doc is quite against running, probably he's seen the results, but there are plenty of other options for people who find running is not suitable but want to get fit, like power walking, cycling (if you can get hold of a suitable bike), or exercising from home using very cheap equipment (or household items). There is something for everybody, no matter how unfit, fat or plain lazy you are (DISCLAIMER so I'm told, not that any of these adjectives ever applied to me )

Saying that, well done to the OP :T, exercising (safely) is great, I can't run but do plenty of other things and I would definitely agree that you don't need to spend money to get fit

brfc1995

I've taken some of the comments into consideration and the past week i've upped it a little. Did the standard 3 miles twice during the week and then aimed to run a little longer on Saturday, using Sunday as a rest day!

Some of you mentioned apps with training guides, anybody know of any good FREE apps or websites that will help me create a training plan? I've been asked to run a 10K for charity later this year so want to start now and be prepared!

donglemouse

lots and lots if you search, but these couple i have used in my time and were both fine, also free

my.asics.co.uk

http://www.bupa.co.uk/running/training/training-programmes/

the asics one is slightly more specific give guidline paces for each session, whereas the bupa one just tells you how long to run and the associated effort level i.e. easy, hard etc.

the plans are custom generated based on your age, experience etc. which you input at the start

Indie_Kid

There is Bridge to 10k. I tried it and didn't like it. I'm not overly keen on intervals. I ended up using a training plan my coach gave me.

funiture321

I started at uni in September and i'm still doing it now, I also like to combined that with biking.